


Let It Sink In

by Iamacarrot



Series: Back at it with the TMNT [1]
Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brotherly Affection, Donnie is just concerned for his brothers, Emotional Constipation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Good Cop Bad Cop, Guys Being Guys, Multiple movie references, Partying, cold shoulder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 11:51:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16597355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamacarrot/pseuds/Iamacarrot
Summary: When Raph told Leo to be a bit more of a "Present Big Brother" in Mikey's life, the Red-Eared Slider most obviously heard something else.And no; it wasn't along the lines of "Be nicer and try to bond with Mikey," more like; "Do whatever you want, and see how long you can go without getting caught doing something horrifically stupid."





	Let It Sink In

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I'm popping popcorn while it's dark outside with the kitchen lights on maximum.
> 
> So enjoy.

"Okay! You're almost there! Just a few more books!" Leo shouted.

"Are you sure this is safe?! My neck hurts, and I think my legs are gonna give out!" Mikey whimpered as Leo placed another book on top of the tall tower that was on the poor Box Turtle's head.

"Oh calm down! This is perfectly fine! Just three more books after this, and you'll have hit perfect prince mode!" Leo assured, sliding down the tall ladder he had climbed up and placing a small tap on Mikey's snout.

"I don't wanna be a prince anymore! It HURTS!" Mikey whined.

"It's only three more books! You can handle that!" Leo replied, grunting as he hauled a stupidly large book into the room.

"LEO! That's Donnie's FORTY POUND Encyclopedia! You're gonna break my neck!" Mikey screamed.

"You've got eighty-three pounds of books on your head already! One hundred twenty pounds will be nothing!" Leo scoffed.

"Nope! I'm done!" Mikey refused, taking one step and grunting along with Leo as the books landed atop their bodies.

All eighty-three pounds.

Leo gasped as his head popped out of the sea of books, glaring as Mikey climbed out of the pile completely.

"Great, my legs are covered in paper cuts! I'm not gonna be able to sit right for a week!" Mikey whined. Leo snickered.

"Don't be gross." Mikey huffed.

"Uhh, what happened in here?" April asked as she stepped over each stray book carefully.

"I was TRYING to help Mikey become a prince, but he chickened out before the process was complete." Leo replied.

"You were gonna break my neck!" Mikey cried out.

"Drama Queen." Leo scoffed.

"Ooookay. Anyways. I'm bored, Raph's gone, and Donnie is working on some invention. So... wanna go explore an abandoned building?" April asked.

"Yeah!" Leo and Mikey shouted in unison.

"Well then why are we just standing, sitting, and... whatever Leo is doing? Let's go!" April encouraged.

Leo smiled as he made his way out of the pile of paper and leather, taking in a sharp breath as he realized that he too was covered in paper cuts. Mikey laughed tauntingly, grunting as he dodged a book that Leo had thrown at him.

"Come on you two. Some fresh air should help those paper cuts feel better." April chuckled.

"Please, we've been hurt worse." Mikey assured, wiping away a bit of seeping blood before following after April.

Smirking, Leo shoved Mikey forward, causing the younger to smirk as well and stop in his tracks, leaving Leo to bump into Mikey.

"Move." Leo ordered lightly.

"I don't think I want to." Mikey hummed. Leo chuckled, picking Mikey up and carrying the younger bridal style.

"STOP! We're not married! I'd rather marry Donnie than you!" Mikey shouted.

"That certainly says a lot about your personality preference." Leo joked.

April snickered, unable to hold back her amusement. Mikey groaned, allowing himself to be carried.

"Hey, don't get comfortable. We're just a sewer lid away from the building." April advised.

"How inconvenient." Mikey sighed, tapping Leo's cheek and groaning lazily.

"You've been hanging out with Donnie too much." Leo muttered.

"He DID say he would marry Donnie if he had a choice between you two." April chimed. Mikey blushed, stuttering as his head flew up, knocking Leo in the chin and causing both brothers to grunt in surprise.

"No need to explain yourself." April teased, chuckling as Mikey began pulling his head into his shell in embarrassment.

"Welp, we've lost the life of the party." Leo hummed.

"Only for the time being. He'll come out when he sees what's next." April replied, beginning to climb up a ladder that led to a manhole cover which looked rather beaten.

Mikey poked his head back out in intrigue. April moved the cover with little to no effort, smiling widely as a few strobe lights began to light up the dark sewer pipe.

"Hold on. I thought you said this building was abandoned." Leo commented as he pushed Mikey out of the opening, both of their mouths gaping open as they saw the- for lack of a better word -AWESOME building in front of them, filled to the brink with strobe lights, mutants, and music that they hadn't even heard of yet.

"This... is... awesome!" Mikey shouted.

"Yeah it is! I found this place a few weeks ago, and they're super cool with humans who can handle mutants! Mainly because not many humans can, so there isn't really a surplus of humans here." April explained.

"Dude, Raph and Donnie are gonna flip when they find out we've been here." Leo excitedly whispered to Mikey.

"You mean IF they find out." Mikey chuckled mischievously.

"If...? If is good." Leo chimed quietly, fist-bumping Mikey and standing up with the younger, both meeting April in front of the bouncer of the building.

"Are we even old enough to be here?" Leo asked April.

"Kid, when you're a mutant, age don't matter when it comes to partying." the bouncer chuckled, allowing the three to walk in.

"Oh... mi... gosh... I can't believe I'm doing this! I'VE NEVER BEEN TO A PLACE LIKE THIS IN MY LIFE!" Mikey squealed, making a few nearby mutants laugh.

"What are we even supposed to do?" Leo asked, a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Whatever. We. Want." April replied, tearing off her trademark outfit to reveal a red dress. Mikey and Leo froze before cheering, rushing off towards the nearest area on the dance floor and easily taking the spotlight with their synchronized dancing.

"GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" the surrounding mutants chanted as Mikey and Leo began to finish their routine, panting before bowing.

"Wanna go hang out at the bar?" Leo asked.

"I was waiting for you to ask that." Mikey chuckled in response, allowing Leo to pull him towards the bar.

"What's available?" Leo asked the barkeep.

"You kids are a bit young for alcohol, and I refuse to lose my job just because you used puppy eyes. But I do have a close alternative." the barkeep replied.

April laughed as she finished a conversation with another human, turning and searching for her boys.

"Leo? Mikey?" April asked, eyes widening as she caught sight of the two at the bar.

"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" Leo chanted as Mikey downed an entire bowl of coffee beans in under thirty seconds.

"MORE!" Mikey ordered.

The barkeep obliged, sending another bowl flying Mikey's way, and only then did April notice that Mikey had went through five bowls already.

"Boys." April sighed in amusement, joining Mikey and Leo at the bar. "Just a Pina Colada, please."

"Coming right up." the barkeep replied. April looked to the brothers, shaking her head as Mikey gagged, swallowing down his vomit and coughing.

"I'm gonna break the record!" Mikey screamed.

"What record?" Leo asked.

"I have NO IDEA!" Mikey replied, gagging once more and racing to the nearest trashcan, vomiting harshly and earning cheers.

"What the-"

"These clubbers will cheer every time a newb gives out. They're cheering louder than usual, but only because Mikey lasted as long as he did." April explained. Leo nodded in understanding.

"Hey, you're kinda cute." a mutant suddenly complimented.

"I know." Mikey replied, coughing before recovering quickly. "Why are you stating the obvious?"

"Ooh, you've got moxie. I like." the mutant hummed.

"Nah. That's the coffee talking, but I can do more talking if you want me to~" Mikey chuckled.

"I'd like that very much~" the mutant replied, helping Mikey up and leading him to a nearby booth.

Leo opened his mouth to comment, but stopped as April raised her hand. "What happens in the club, STAYS in the club." April sighed.

"I'm cool with that." Leo replied.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"WHOO! SOMEBODY COME GET 'ER! SHE'S DANCIN' LIKE A STRIPPER!" Leo shouted, earning loud laughs from Mikey and April as the trio made their way into the lair.

"SOMEBODY COME GET 'ER! SHE'S DANCIN' LIKE A STRIPPER!" April shouted.

"SOMEBODY COME TIP 'ER! SHE'S DANCIN' LIKE A STRIPPER!" Mikey shouted.

"SOMEBODY COME GET 'ER! SHE'S FEELING ALL THE LIQUOR!" the trio screamed, obviously uncaring of who heard them at the moment (mainly because they were positive that no one but them was up at this ungodly hour).

"Tonight, was the best night in the history of ever." Leo laughed, wiping a tear away. "Yeah it was! I could do this EVERY NIGHT!" Mikey screamed.

"Do WHAT, exactly?" a voice asked. The trio froze, all looking forward and wincing as a light was switched on, revealing Donnie and Raph standing in front of them, very much awake, and very much PISSED.

Mikey screamed, disappearing in his shell and leaving Leo and April defenseless.

"Oh thanks Mikey! You're perfectly fine with chugging five bowls of raw coffee beans and being forced to throw them back up, but THESE TWO scare you?!?!?" Leo shouted.

"RAW COFFEE BEANS?!" Raph and Donnie screamed.

"Oof. Bad call." April muttered.

"Yeah, I got that." Leo huffed.

"Leon, Michael, in the living room. We need to talk with you privately." Donnie ordered.

"What? Why can't you just-"

"GET YOUR ASSES IN THERE!" Raph shouted, scaring Leo enough to grab Mikey and hightail it into the living room.

"As for you; I can't even think of what to say. You _KNOW_ how easy it is to imprint something into their brains, yet you took them to God knows where!" Donnie shouted.

"Hey! I was just trying to show them a good time! They aren't kids anymore! They were well behaved, and nothing bad happened!" April replied.

"BLEAUGH!"

"OH GOD! MIKEY JUST PUKED ALL OVER ME!" Leo screamed.

"Uh-huh." Raph scoffed.

"Okay. Up until now. But we were having fun! There was no drinking, no inappropriate behavior, and no making out of any kind." April assured.

"The longer you talk, the more I want to Lizzie Bordon." Donnie hissed.

"Right. So... I'll just go now." April gulped.

"That'd probably be best." Raph huffed, watching as April rushed off.

"I can't believe this. I would expect this sort of thing out of Leo, but out of April?" Raph sighed, absolutely puzzled.

"Right now, we need to worry about the; Current. Problem." Donnie reminded, gesturing towards the living room, where Leo was wiping himself free of Mikey's vomit, and where Mikey was floating in and out of consciousness.

"Oh yeah." Raph sighed, groaning and massaging his forehead before coming to a conclusion.

"Alright, we need to go full parent, but not too harsh. I understand that April was trying to show them a good time, but they HAVE to realize the consequences! We need to go "Good Cop, Bad Cop" on them. I'll-"

"OH, YOU TWO ARE SO DEAD!" Donnie screamed, storming over to the two youngest brothers.

"...Go Good Cop then." Raph sighed, following after Donnie.

Leo scrambled as far away from Donnie as possible, too scared to pull Mikey back with him.

"Wait! At least listen to our side of the story!" Leo pleaded.

"Oh, there's a story now?!" Donnie asked.

"Ugh... cut it out with the shouting! I can't feel my fu-"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Donnie interrupted, scaring Mikey back into his shell.

"Donnie. You're gonna lose your voice before we even get to the point." Raph warned. Donnie huffed, taking the hint and easing up on his shouting, but the heavy glare on his face made it nearly impossible for Leo to look either of the two in the eye.

"You both need to realize the consequences of your actions. So, as a punishment, I'M going to make you both train for an extra two hours every day." Raph announced.

"But-"

"CLAM IT!" Donnie ordered, shutting Leo up.

"Now, as for Donnie; I'm not sure what he'll do, but you're bound to find out soon." Raph finished. Leo nodded vigorously, and Mikey poked an arm out to give a shaky thumbs up.

"Good. So, now that we understand each other; get cleaned, and get to bed. NOW." Raph ordered, watching as his youngest brothers scrambled away.

"So what're you gonna do?" Raph asked.

"You'll see." Donnie replied.

"You'll see."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Hey Dee? Can you pass the jelly please?" Mikey asked softly, frowning as he was ignored for the fifth time that morning, and the eighteenth time that week.

"Raphael? Do you hear something?" Donnie asked, not looking up from his tablet. Mikey pouted, lying his head on the table.

"Nevermind." Mikey whimpered, eyes tearing up as he caught the faint sound of Donnie muttering "That's what I thought." under his breath.

Leo sighed, placing a comforting hand on Mikey's shell.

"Don't worry about it. At least Raph isn't the one ignoring us." Leo whispered.

"Ugh. I swear, we need to call pest control or SOMETHING. I keep hearing annoyingly subtle pleads for forgiveness." Donnie scoffed.

Mikey sobbed, standing up from the table and rushing off to his room.

"What an effective way to make him regret being your brother." Leo scoffed, standing up and following after Mikey.

When they were gone, Donnie let out a loud cough/sob, tears falling down his face in waterfalls.

"Donnie, this is killing you! Cut the act and just forgive them!" Raph ordered. Donnie wiped his tears away, taking a deep breath and shuddering before returning to his resting face.

"It is doing nothing to me, and I will not forgive him until I am ready." Donnie hissed, standing up and walking off to his lab.

"Him?" Raph whispered.

"Just leave me alone!" Raph heard Mikey wail, followed by a loud crash.

"No! Mikey, put the pillow down!"

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" Mikey screamed, the sound followed by a loud bang and curses from Leo.

"You can't hide in there forever!" Leo shouted.

"Yes I can! And I WILL! I'll live off of paint and bugs!" Mikey replied.

"Okay, first of all, that's gross! Secondly; there's no way that diet could sustain you!" Leo argued, trying to break Mikey's door handle.

"Go away!" Mikey shouted.

A loud dragging sound then stopped Leo's attempts, the Slider gaping as he realized what had just happened.

"Did you just slide your dresser in front of your door?!" Leo asked.

"Why does it matter?! Even if I didn't, you wouldn't be able to get in! I had Donnie install special locks that can only be unlocked by a skeleton key that HE OWNS! With the way he's acting now, no one is gonna get in here! He probably wants me to stay in here anyways!" Mikey sobbed.

"Mikey, you're being ridiculous! Let me in!" Leo huffed.

"GO AWAY!" Mikey ordered, sobbing as he slid onto the floor.

"You have no place to tell him what to do." Mikey heard Donnie sigh.

Fearing that he was in more trouble, Mikey slipped under his bed, regretting the decision as soon as he realized how hot it was. Mikey moved to get out of the scorching heat, climbing into his closet and shutting the door just as his door was unlocked, and his dresser was pushed to the side by Raph. Mikey stopped breathing for a millisecond, backing up against the wall and yelping as a large bucket of pencils fell on the closet floor.

The others looked to the closet, honing in on the whimpers of fear and agreeing that only one of them should try and coax Mikey out.

"I think it should be Donnie. He's the reason this is happening, after all." Leo joked darkly.

"Leo." Raph scolded.

"No, he's fine. And he's right. I started this, and I should stop it." Donnie sighed.

"Wait... did he just... agree with me?" Leo asked, gasping happily.

"Not the time." Raph reminded.

"Right. Sorry." Leo whispered, silently cheering.

"Michael, please come out." Donnie said, sitting in front of the closet and preparing to wait for an extended amount of time. When he got no reply, Donnie looked to the floor. "Michael, you know that I was just trying to teach you a lesson-"

"By ignoring me and calling me a pest?!" Mikey shouted.

"Oh... right. That." Donnie groaned.

"Just tell him you're sorry." Leo whispered. Donnie mouthed a 'why,' obviously not understanding the full concept of apologize-forgive.

"Do it!" Raph whisper-shouted. Donnie rolled his eyes.

"Okay, look. I'm not normally one who has to say this- mainly because I never do anything dumb enough to warrant this -but I'm... I guess I-"

"Oh mi gosh. IT'S TWO WORDS!" Leo groaned.

"FINE! I'M SORRY! THERE! ARE YOU HAPPY LEON?!?!?" Donnie asked, grunting as Mikey knocked them both onto the floor.

"I'm the one who should be sorry! I did something bad and I should have known better! You had every right to be mad and ignore me!" Mikey wailed, hugging Donnie close and acting as if Donnie would shun him as soon as he let go.

"Mikey-"

"No! Let me finish...! I should have said no as soon as I realized what was happening, but I decided that it'd be okay to lie about what we had done! I was willing to lie to you, and for WHAT?! Some dumb club experience?!" Mikey shouted.

Donnie frowned. He wasn't good at identifying emotions, but he was being given more than enough evidence that Mikey was "being torn apart at the seams" per se. So, how did one fix that?

Well, according to his calculations and research, people in a deep emotional state can usually be cheered up by-

Wait. No.

This was Mikey.

Donnie's baby brother.

And no research could tell Donnie how to cheer up his own baby brother.

He'd just have to find out how to do that part on his own.

Donnie wrapped his arms around Mikey, unsure of whether or not he was doing something productive. Mikey was still crying, but he was also holding Donnie tighter. So maybe Donnie WAS doing something right.

"Umm... are you... do you need anything? Juice? A cookie? Some toilet paper-"

"Donnie."

"What? I don't know what sad people need!" Donnie huffed. Mikey giggled softly. Donnie gasped, his heart rate picking up. "He giggled... I got a giggle! I'm doing something right! I am the MASTER of comfort!"

"I wouldn't say master, but you're alright for a beginner." Leo commented. Mikey sniffled, looking up at Donnie with teary eyes.

"Do you think you can forgive me?" Donnie asked. Mikey replied with a sweet kiss to Donnie's lips, pulling back after a few seconds.

Leo's bottom jaw fell open, leaving Raph to shut it.

"Did he just...?" Leo asked.

"Don't ruin the moment." Raph sighed.

Donnie let out a stupefied sound of embarrassment, not knowing how to react.

"I forgive you." Mikey hummed, looking Donnie in the eyes for a minute or two before snickering.

"What?" Donnie asked.

"Snotty kiss." Mikey giggled. Donnie raised a brow, trying to figure out what that meant, and trying not to gag as he realized. Before he could react, however, Mikey kissed Donnie once more, making sure a disturbing amount of snot got onto Donnie's mouth.

"Oh GOD! That's DISGUSTING!" Donnie screamed.

Mikey squealed happily, hopping up and rushing off.

"Get back here! You disgusting little brother!" Donnie growled, following after Mikey, but not before wiping his face free of snot.

"Hmm, well at least they forgave each other." Raph chuckled.

"You really call this a victory?" Leo asked.

"As much of one as we'll get at this time of morning." Raph sighed.

**Author's Note:**

> No, Mikey did not pork the mutant. They simply talked before Leo and April pulled Mikey away.


End file.
